The Fangirl Diaries

Discovering your true self through fandom is a complicated journey. In this coming-of-age memoir, Erica Espejo will take you back to the turn of the millennium where anime fandom in the United States was growing from niche to mainstream. Sailor Moon was broadcast in English, and a generation of otaku timed their VCRs and watched in awe as the course of media fandom changed forever.
This intimate and humorous memoir tells the story of one such eager fan who would go on to define her young adulthood with fan creations, cosplay, conventions and many other engagements with a variety of anime, manga and other media. An early adopter of online communities through newsgroups and tape trading, the author brings an informed and deeply personal perspective to the changing meaning of fandom.

Erica Victoria Espejo writes about anime conventions on her blog Scarlet Rhapsody. She has appeared on panels about anime and general fandom at Anime Expo, San Diego Comic Con, Otakon, Anime Boston, and Fanime. She lives in Irvine, California.

Erica Victoria Espejo
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 222
Bibliographic Info: 36 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9650-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5490-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
Prologue. Fall 2019: An Auditorium in South Orange County 5

Part One. Finding Fandom<BR>
 1. I Didn’t Know That Was an Anime! 11
 2. Setting the VCR Timer by Moonlight 14
 3. Sailor Moon Is from Japan?! 18

Part Two. Hey Mom! Let’s Go to Anime Expo!

 4. Anime Expo 1998: Missed Opportunities 31
 5. Anime Expo 1999: Baby’s First Anime Convention 36

Part Three. Finding My People

 6. Escape from High School World 41
 7. Online Voice Acting: Fan Fiction Meets Podcasting 49
 8. Anime Expo 2000: But Dad, It’s the Woodstock of Our Generation! 57
 9. Ani-Magic 2000: Where’s Lancaster Again? 69
10. Anime Central 2001: A Mad Scientist Hosts a Beauty Pageant 83
11. Anime Expo 2001: An Anime Convention in My Backyard 92
12. Class of 2002: Cat Ears and School Uniform. I Can’t Stop Me 99
13. Anime Central 2002: Ever Wonder What a Gundam Does in the Hangar? 107
14. Anime Expo 2002: Like American Graffiti but Anime 112
15. San Diego -Comic-Con: Do I Belong Here? 126

Part Four. Anime Going Mainstream: Everything Changes

16. Cosplay Community Before Social Media 131
17. Wine Country University 136
18. New Friendship Circles 151

Part Five. The Bay Area: A Haven for Otakudom<BR>
19. Branding Cosplay Identity 161
20. Fake It Until You Can Make It 181
21. Outside Anime Fandom 188
22. Cosplay Is Serious Business 192

Part Six. Sew Much to Do

23. Lesson One: How to Sew Straight 197
24. Cosplay É in This Economy? 203

Epilogue. In My Ancestor Era 207
Index 213